Reading, Teaching, Learning

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

I finished this fabulous book of book of poetry by Nikki Grimes, who gathered her favorite Harlem Renaissance poems and composed original poems from them using the "Golden Shovel" technique. Grimes defines it like this: The idea of a Golden Shovel poem is to take a short poem in its entirety, or a line from that poem (called a striking line), and create a new poem, using the words from the original. I was fascinated by this poetic form and was inspired to try it out. I want to challenge my students to try it, also. Here is my attempt:

The Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

—Mary Oliver

QUESTIONSWhat direction will my life take? Only time will tell.I can try to choose the paths, but ultimately, who controls me?Do I make my own plans, no matter what?My future - do I determine what it is?Or fate? Or does some higher power make it?Is that higher power created by me and you?Or is It/He/She part of a grand, cosmic plan?Do I believe like the teachers at Sunday School told me to?An Alpha and Omega showing me what to doif I commune with, meditate with, and pray with...Is that higher power my Father, my Friend, yourSavior, the only One?Oh, these thoughts, so rebellious, hopeful, and wild!After all these questions and the pondering andthe doubts, ultimately faith comes in, and it's precious.This path or that, left or right, chosen by me AND You... life.--Holly Mueller

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

I started out this week in a funk. This is unusual as I'm ordinarily cheerful and positive. I couldn't put my finger on exactly why I was feeling a little depressed, but alas, there it was. Maybe because there are three more days of testing this week, and I miss my regular schedule with the kids? Or that the weekend was so fun, and I wasn't ready for Monday? I don't know. Shortly after I arrived at school, I got this text from my husband: "Sorry, but I am going to make your funk worse. Goose patrol just walked by nest..." There's more, but I'm going to spare you the details. However, I'll give you some background on the Goose Patrol.

As many of you know, we moved into our lakeside condo a year ago this April. It's a wonderful place. We love the shade trees that bloom in the spring, the blue herons and bald eagle that soar over the lake, the skidding landings of the ducks in the water, the incredible colors of the sunrises and sunsets, and yes, even the constant honking of the geese. One of the first experiences in our new condo was spotting a nesting goose right at the edge of our back yard, on the edge of the lake, her fiercely protective gander floating by her side. I snapped the photo above, and eagerly watched her faithful nesting, waiting for her goslings to one day appear.

Much to my dismay, however, a group of men came by one day while I was at school (Ed was at home, showing some friends our newly moved-into place) bearing rakes and screwdrivers and wearing brightly colored vests. Their mission? To destroy goose eggs around the lake. This is not an easy task - if you know geese, they are vicious when protecting their eggs and young. "My" goose was discovered, and her eggs were smashed. Our friends witnessed the deed, not entirely realizing what was going on until afterward, and were horrified. Ed didn't tell me for a while because he knew I'd be sad. He finally caved after a couple days because I was posting updates on the nesting on Facebook and he couldn't take it anymore. One of the saddest things is that the geese keep on nesting for a while because they don't realize the eggs won't ever hatch.

Now understand this. I grew up a country girl. I'm pragmatic when it comes to animals (although, I do admit I become very attached to most animals). I was even a bird hunter. We investigated and learned that this is a sanctioned practice - the Goose Patrol has permission to do this, so no need to protest too much. I know that some people hate geese. I know they are messy and problematic. I know they are pests. I know their poop is disgusting and can cause diseases. I know they are loud and obnoxious. I know all that, and I understand the need to keep the goose population down. Animal overpopulation is bad - they end up competing for resources and interfere with humans. But dang it, I wanted to see those goslings hatch!

Fast forward to yesterday. Our front landscaping has a tiered wall that leads down to the grass below since we're on a hill. I discovered a goose nesting just down from our main landscaping and on the mulched area on the wall below. It's several feet up from the grass beside the lake. A perfect spot! She was hidden from above AND below. Her only give-away was the gander floating on the edge of the lake below. Well, that and her loud hissing whenever you came near. That's how I discovered her as I was checking out the emerging perennials. I smiled, thinking that we were co-conspirators - she may just "stick it to the man" nesting there! I silently willed her to keep quiet and wished her good luck. Meanwhile, I saw a couple other goose families that got by the Goose Patrol. Yay! I hoping for this one.

It wasn't to be. When Ed started his text that way, I knew they found her. He felt really bad about it because he knew I was rooting for her (he's actually not a fan of geese, but knows I am, so sympathizes). Apparently, they almost walked by her, and even the gander had stepped away for a few, which helped in not drawing attention to a potential nest, but one of the guys got too close, and she hissed and spread her wings, giving away her position. They moved in for the kill. Unfortunately, she hasn't figured this out yet and is still sitting there. My mood has barely improved...

Sunday, April 9, 2017

I've written about this before, but each year, I start with 6th graders writing "Where I'm From" poems, modeled on George Ella Lyon's beautiful mentor text. We then make them into Animoto videos. I haven't had a chance to share this year's creations, so during this National Poetry Month and Margaret's perfect topic, now's the time! Here are a few!

Thursday, April 6, 2017

This was one of my Junior High Girls' Book Club picks. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't finish it in time for our meeting. :-( I'm still struggling through it. I know everyone loves it, but I'm finding it a slow read. Ugh!

An interesting historical retelling of Snow White. In order for kids to fully grasp it, they would need background knowledge of the 1920s/30s and would need to do a lot of inferring - it's not an easy graphic novel!

I've been wanting to get to the series for a while now. We picked as one of our books for my Junior High Girls Book Club in the spring. My daughter, Libby, loved it and has gone on to read the rest of the series.

Aw, this brought me back to my 4-H and Warren County Fair days. Loved this simple story of a city girl moving to Maine and discovering the magic of taking care of farm animals and showing them at the local fair. Charming.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Some Kind of Courage, and Dan Gemeinhart Skyped with us after I finished Some Kind of Courage as a 5th grade read aloud. I've yet to get to Scar Island, but many of my students have read it and liked it!

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for providing space for us to write Slices of Life each week. This week, I couldn't post in time for DigiLit Sunday, hosted by Margaret Simon because I was traveling, but I'm glad I waited because I read my students' final March Classroom Challenge Slices of Life on the way home, which perfectly answered Margaret's question of the week: Why Are We Doing This?

This was my fourth year participating in the March SOLSC myself, and the fourth year for my students to participate in the Classroom Challenge. Each year poses its own challenges and rewards, and this year was no exception, and I think it was the best yet for my students. Part of that is my experience in presenting the challenge - after 3 years, I've done a lot of trouble-shooting! I also think I got better about providing ideas, using mentor texts to encourage good writing, and reading as many of their posts and commenting on them (I have 53 students this year - most of whom participated to some extent) as I could while trying to keep up with my own participation (I didn't make it to all 31 Slices - I wrote 26). It was A LOT of reading, writing, and commenting! I was so impressed, though, with my students' comments to each other and their quality of writing this year. I did a couple mini-lessons just on commenting, and I think it paid off. They built quite a writing community among themselves.

I create levels and prizes so that those who write all 31 days and comment on three other Slices daily are aptly rewarded (although several wrote that even though the treats enticed them, the sheer act of writing and responding/getting responses is what drove them). Even if they don't make it to Level 5, which is every day, there are treats for other levels as well. I want to give them the freedom to miss a few, especially since our spring break falls during March, but still particpate. Tomorrow I'll get their charts to see how many achieved each level. They're also writing reflections on the experience, also due tomorrow. I always look forward to reading those!

When Margaret asked the question this past week, Why Are We Doing This? (I ask myself this every year - ha), I had a feeling my students would answer it, and indeed, they did. Check out this post from one of my 5th graders, Leo. Another 5th grader, Grace, wrote about her "Why" in this post. Katelyn wrote about the struggle and the journey here. Braden, a 6th grader, also wrote about the journey and his accomplishments. I couldn't express the "Why We Do This" any better than they. I'm always amazed by how the March Challenge transforms us all into a close community, provides a forum where we can express ideas and tell stories, and develops us into better writers. THAT'S why we do this!

About Me

I'm a 5th/6th grade ELA gifted intervention specialist with a wonderful husband and two fantastic daughters. I love to read, write, teach, learn, hang out with friends and family, walk my dog, and travel.

"One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world." - Malala Yousafzai

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. " - E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

"We read to know we are not alone." - C.S. Lewis

"Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns." - Anne Lamott

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours." - The History Boys

"We're only in control of two things: how we prepare for what might happen, and how we respond to what just happened. The moment when things actually do happen, belongs to God." - DeVon Franklin